Opto-Isolator Wins Any Staring Contest

I don’t know about you, but I just can’t stand to have someone stare at me. If you think being stared is bad, just imagine how art feels.

Well, designers Golan Levin and Greg Baltus are giving us a sample of the stare-glare with the Opto-Isolator. As you can see, the Opto-Isolator is a black box with an eye in the middle of it.

It is art that looks back at you. Not only that, it will respond like a real eye. It is programmed to look a viewer in the eye, then study what it is looking at like a real person. The bionic eye will then look away after a while, just like I do if I find that someone is staring at me. Not only that, but it has the power to blink, and blink loudly.

I think the question we have to ask ourselves is if this is art, or the future of robot eyes. As I recall, the Terminator had these eyes that would not blink, but would just stare.

If you want to see it, just go to New York and go to the Bitforms Gallery. You also might want to check out this YouTube video, if it doesn’t freak you out too much.